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“Fine, but I want the stage cleared before sunrise the next morning. Is that understood?” The mastermind of Moebius rubbed his forehead as he let out a deep sigh.
“Weww! Thanks big guy, you’re the best! I promise you won’t even know we were there!” X chirped in delight. She was overjoyed that her boss finally agreed, but she knew he’d come around eventually. “Are you suuuure you don’t wanna join in? I think you’d make a pretty good ghoul honestly, I could fix you up a costu-”
“That will not be necessary.” Z stated matter-of-factly, stepping back towards his seat. “I shan’t be attending.”
“Awhh alright, whatever you say, chief.” X pouted, but her frown didn’t last long. She spun around dramatically and skipped away down the aisle. “Welp I’ll leave you to it! Gotta let everybody know the good news!”
As X closed the double doors to the Amphitheatre behind her, Z sat down in his front-row seat, staring at the blank projector wall.
“I hope I don’t regret this…”
The High-Consuls were a touch surprised to receive a visitor at the Castle that day. N was visiting his wife – as he often did between work – but their pleasant stroll through the gardens was interrupted by their coworker appearing suddenly before them.
“Heyyy bestie, hey M! I got some awesome news~”
“Please stop calling me that…” N protested, but his words almost certainly fell on deaf ears.
M took a step forward, still holding her lover’s hand. “What is it, X? We’re sort of in the middle of something here.”
“Woww you two are so sour, and here I was about to invite you to my party!”
Both the Consuls blinked, tilting their heads and raising their eyebrows in confusion. N was the first to speak. “P-Party? What sort of party?”
X smiled wide with joy as she threw her hands into the air. “Halloweeeeen!!”
“You’re hosting a Halloween party?” M perked up a little, seemingly a touch interested in the idea.
N retained his frown. “Have you run this idea by-”
“Yep! Sure have!” The reaper spun around on the spot before clapping her hands together. “I zipped on over here as soon as I got the okay from the bossman, you’re the first people I’ve told!”
M opened up the calendar in her Iris. “When are you thinking of having it?”
”Ohh probably about two weeks from now! Right on the thirty-first!”
With a sigh, N asked the question he feared the answer to. “So this isn’t a… costume party, is it?”
“Oh my gosh duhh! Of course it is, silly!” X gave the swordsman a playful slap on the shoulder, much to his discomfort. “That’s not all though, the best costume gets a neat little prize courtesy of yours truly!”
M turned to her man, and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “Well love, what do you think? I reckon it might be fun.”
“Umm… well I suppose it could be, if you really wanted to go.” N wasn’t too thrilled at the idea in honesty, but it was nigh impossible to say no to the radiant, amber eyes of his darling Mio.
X interjected before any more could be said. “Wonderful! I’ll mark you two down as a ‘Yes’ then!” After checking them off in her Iris, she scrolled to the next on the list. “Alright, next up is D, if I can track him down…”
N rolled his eyes. “Ugh, that clod isn’t on the invite list, is he?” He really wasn’t a big fan of D’s company, something about him just rubbed N the wrong way, and that was saying something.
“He suuuure is! I’m gonna invite most of the usual crew,” X leaned in to whisper, “Except a few certain partypoopers.” She mumbled under her breath, “*cough* V and R *cough*.”
With that, she skipped away a few feet into the garden before turning to wave goodbye, teleporting away. “Toodles~!”
A short moment of silence passed before N felt his lover’s hands on his shoulders. “So… we need to find ourselves some costumes then.”
“Mmm, I imagine we’re going to need to make them, or have the Castle seamsters handle it for us.” N gently brushed the hair from her face. “I don’t suppose you already have some ideas?”
M giggled as she pulled him in for a quick smooch, before flashing him a mischievous smile. “Oh, I can think of a few things…”
Despite the fact that N trusted his wife fully and sincerely, he couldn’t help but feel the slightest little hint of dread in the back of his mind for what she might’ve had planned for him.
* * *
At last the time came, the party was in full swing. The Amphitheatre stage had been decorated with all manner of spooky seasonal accessories. Jack-O-Lanterns were on display in the corners of the stage, the curtains of the wings were adorned with faux spiderwebs, and bats, and a fake human head hung from the central chandelier (well, it was probably fake).
Along the stage’s back wall were a series of fold-up tables, containing a veritable platter of spooky-themed noms and nibbles. The others had no idea where X managed to pull all of this from, but perhaps it was best not to ask.
“Bestie! You ca- OH MY GOSH what are you wearing?!” Drawing the attention of everyone in the room, X burst out in uncontrollable laughter. N’s face flushed red with embarrassment. He knew this was a terrible idea…
The High-Consul of Keves was wearing a costume that M had tailor-ordered for him. A black, frilly skirt, with black thigh-highs, and flats with little white whiskers drawn on them. He wore a crop top with pawprint imagery that showcased his marvellously toned tummy, a headband with cat ears, and even a fake tail attached to his skirt. To top it all off, his face had been painted with a little cat nose and whiskers.
“Come on, sweetheart. You’ve got to say the thing, remember?” M looked upon her husband, eyes brimming with hope and affection. Sigh… the things you do for love.
N cleared his throat, and said in the most unenthused voice imaginable. “I’m a little kitty cat. Nya.”
The entire room was dead silent, X putting one-hundred and ten percent effort not to explode into laughter again.
M spoke up before anyone else could comment. “He’s my little kitty cat! Every witch needs a cute black cat, right?” Sure enough, M was dressed as a witch, a costume she had made herself. It wasn’t too difficult to throw together, she already had the hat from a costume party a while ago, and once she had the coat ready, just had to swipe a broomstick from one of the Castle’s closets.
X had finally calmed down. “Well you two look just adorable! I expected you to do some sort of couples costume, but this is sooo much better than I couldn’t imagined~”
“I’m gonna grab us some food. Anything in particular you want, love?” M gave her man a peck on the cheek as she gestured towards the tables.
His face still burning hot, N mumbled under his breath in a bashful voice. “Maybe some of those cookies… and a cheesecake bar if you could.”
“You got it, be right back.” She made her way towards the platters of food, a spring in her step as she waved and said hello to her fellow coworkers passing by. N watched her as she walked away, the one saving grace of all this, was that his wife’s costume accentuated her best features beautifully.
“So I’m gonna assume this was M’s idea?” X was still buzzing around, drawing N’s eyes away from the curvature of M’s ass. “Just can’t say ‘no’ to the missus, huh? Now that’s true love right there.”
N showed X a very unimpressed look. “And I suppose you put your own costume together? If this can even be considered clothing.”
X took pride in her costume of choice. While most others had gone with more traditional Halloween themes, X instead opted to wear the sluttiest ‘sexy nurse’ outfit she could find.
“Please, I don’t have time to make my own threads, I had these ordered for me. The folks at the Castle can be very accommodating if you ask nicely.” She spun around in a little pirouette, showcasing her outfit in all its glory. “You’re just jealous cause I’m gonna win best dressed!”
N scoffed as he crossed his arms. “I think to qualify for best dressed, you have to actually be dressed, you klutz. What you’re wearing wouldn’t cover the head of a goose.”
M stacked two plates up full of food, one loaded specifically with what her dearest Noah requested. Cookies and cheesecake huh, after all these years he was still a sweet tooth.
“Mind if I squeeze in here?” A voice called out from behind her.
“Oh, sur- huh?” M swivelled around but saw no-one, until she looked down and noticed a large white sheet with legs and eye holes standing in front of her. “Oh golly, I didn’t see you down there, sorry I nearly stepped on you!”
The little ghost spoke again, in a voice M recognized. “Yeah… that’s happened a few times already tonight. I’m starting to think this costume was a bad idea.”
M giggled as she knelt down. “Well I think you look great, J.” She brushed a bit of dirt off the sheet, and readjusted it so the little Consul could see better.
“Thanks M, getting something to eat? Hard to believe X organised all this yummy food.”
The High-Consuls rose to her feet and picked up the two plates. “Yep, I’ve got a hungry kitty cat that desperately needs a cheesecake bar!”
J scratched his head under the sheet. “Uhh, yeah I’m not even gonna ask.”
* * *
At last, X had gotten bored running her mouth and left N alone… except she had been replaced with D who was now having his own turn bothering the poor swordsman.
He took a loud sip of his punch, eyeing N up and down. “Nice getup.”
“Not another word, this kitty has claws.”
D nearly spilt his drink at that, at least he was embracing it, N was more a man than he could ever be.
“As much as I’d love to rag on your costume as well, it’s actually pretty well done.” The High-Consul reluctantly admitted. A very rare thing indeed to receive a compliment from N.
He was dressed as a vampire. Very traditional, yet very effective, with faux fangs and fake blood to boot.
“Cheers.” D grinned, taking another sip of his unfortunately now-empty glass. “Don’t think I’m winning best dressed though,” He confessed, “That’s probably going to Y.”
D gestured over to the front row, where Y sat with a modest plate of mini quiches. He was dressed as a zombie, and pulled out all the stops for it. His skin literally looked like it was rotting away, although, he didn’t exactly have the best skin-care routine on a normal day.
“Did you make yours, or?” N tried to start conversation while he waited for his darling to return, suppressing the hungry grumble in his stomach.
“Nah, I know a guy.” D admitted, “He hooked me up, well, I sort of threatened him but eh, I’d say we’re buddies.”
As is if on cue, M returned with a plate full of cute little cookies, and scrumptious cheesecake. “Here you are m’love!”
“Thank you, dearest.” N eagerly, but politely, grabbed the plate and immediately took a bite. Mmmm… at least X had gotten this part right, assuming she did make it herself.
“Ah, the ever-gorgeous M! Looking very festive, I like what you’ve done.” D flashed her a smirk, one N was assuredly not appreciative of.
“Thank you D! Yes I’m quite proud of what I managed to put together.”
D laughed and nudged N with his elbow. “You and your man both! I think Y might have some competition after all!”
M put her hands proudly on her hips as she turned to her husband. “Here that, dear? We might be in with a chance!”
“I’d… rather not be put on a pedestal wearing this.” N complained, but with a smile nonetheless. The company of his beloved was the only thing making this whole evening bearable.
His thoughts were cut short by the sound of X calling out to the room. “Hey everyone! We’re doing a piñata! Come get your bats!”
As the rest of the group started huddling around the stage, M turned back to her sweetheart. “Think we should join in?”
“No, I’d rather we found a place to sit and eat, maybe we can watch.” N scanned the area, there were plenty of seats free, but he led his wife to the ones third-row from the front, a decent enough view, but well out of the firing line. Heavens knows what X put in that piñata.
While they watched as the other Moebius were batting away at the hanging pumpkin like little kids, M rested her head on N’s shoulder.
“Thanks for doing this with me, love.” That warm voice of hers was enough to make him forget about all the discomfort and embarrassment the evening brought.
“Of course, dearest. You know I just want to make you happy.” Their fingers interlocked as he held her hand.
“I hope you’re happy too though.”
He smiled at her with sincerity. Despite initially feeling quite apathetic about this whole event, and not being too fond of the outfit chosen for him, Noah couldn’t deny that right now, in this moment, everything felt just as it was meant to be. Their lives had been a rollercoaster since becoming Moebius, full of hardship, difficult choices… regrettable, necessary actions. But this was what it was for, carefree moments like, with his Mio, was what made it all worth it.
“You know what,” He brought his lips to hers, and she understood. “I think I am.”